The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has announced that the Qualifying Test for the Foreign Service Officer Examination (FSOE) is set on May 21, 2017 via CSC Memorandum Circular No. 4, s. 2017.

Deadline of Application: Deadline of application will be on March 29 for applications submitted at any Regional Consular Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), or Philippine embassies and consulates abroad. For applications submitted at the DFA-Board of Foreign Service Examinations in Pasay City, the deadline is extended until April 12.

The FSOE is a five-part examination administered by the DFA to recruit candidates for the Foreign Service Officer, Class IV position. The CSC conducts the first part, which is the Qualifying Test. DFA conducts the succeeding parts which constitute:

Preliminary Interview

Written Test

Psychological Test

Oral Test

Qualifications:

To qualify, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

natural-born Filipino citizens with permanent residency in the Philippines;

not more than 35 years old at the time of the examination. The age limit, though, does not apply to employees of the DFA or Foreign Service Institute (FSI) who had been with the DFA or FSI for at least two years before the date of the Qualifying Test.

at least a bachelor’s degree graduate;

with at least two-year work experience or further studies or a combination of both after college graduation;

knowledgeable on the Philippine economic, political and social conditions;

willing to accept assignment to any foreign service post;

has oral and written communications facility; and

possesses personality traits needed to perform as foreign service officer.

Requirements for application:

Interested applicants must submit

properly accomplished application form (available at DFA Main and Regional Consular offices and Philippine embassies/consulates abroad and downloadable from DFA website www.dfa.gov.ph or CSC website www.csc.gov.ph);

certified true copy of transcript of records and diploma or certificate of graduation from college and post-graduate school, if applicable;

proof of past or present employment or further studies;

original birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA);

certified true copy of marriage contract from PSA for married applicants;

notarized affidavit stating intent to renounce foreign citizenship, and permanent residency in the Philippines for applicants with dual or multiple citizenships;

two self-addressed letter envelopes with stamps and marked as “priority mail”;

with handwritten and hand held name tag legibly showing the applicant’s signature over printed full name in the format first name, middle initial, last name, and extension name if any;

taken not more than three months upon filing of application;

colored in white background,

standard close-up shot,

full-face view showing the applicant’s left and right ears, and

bare face (without eyeglasses or any accessory that may cover facial features), with eyes both open and neutral facial expression.

All documents secured abroad must be certified true copy by the foreign school with English translation and duly authenticated by the Philippine Foreign Service Post concerned.

For applicants born abroad, the following must be submitted:

Report of Birth at Post duly authenticated by the issuing Post may be submitted should there be no available record at PSA, together with certification of non-availability of a birth certificate from PSA.

Applicants married to a foreigner must secure authority from the DFA to take the FSO Examination.

The CSC explained that the FSOE’s Qualifying Test also serves as an eligibility examination titled Career Service Examination for Foreign Service Officer (CSE-FSO). With this, passers will, simultaneously, qualify to proceed to the succeeding stages of the DFA’s FSOE on the one hand and be conferred by the CSC the Career Foreign Service Officer Eligibility on the other hand.

This eligibility is appropriate to first level (clerical) and second level (technical) positions in the government that do not involve the practice of a profession and are not covered by special laws.

For more details, visit the DFA website www.dfa.gov.ph, or refer to CSC MC No. 4, s. 2017 available at the CSC.